An Option for a GoPro Alternative

As an avid GoPro user (I’ve previously owned the 3 Silver, 3+ Black and 4 Black), I was very curious to see how a GoPro alternative compared. I’ll be comparing Intova’s Edge X Waterproof camera to the just-announced GoPro Hero+ LCD, which both cost $299. Though I haven’t personally used the Hero+ LCD, I’ll be combining my personal GoPro camera experiences with a comparison of their rated specifications.

First, let’s talk about GoPros.

Grips

1080p at 60fps is great for action. The more expensive GoPros can also shoot 4K – I rarely ever use the 4K footage directly (it’s big and slow to work with), but when downsampled to 1080p, it becomes incredibly sharp and crisp. That being said, the only GoPro capable of shooting usable 4K is the 4 Black which costs $500

Standardization – because they’re the market leader, there are LOTS of accessories available – and lots of products integrate with them (such as my DJI Phantom drone)

LCD for framing shots

Wifi controllable from a phone app (which is really only a half plus, because a lot of the times that you’ll be using an /action/ camera, you won’t want to have your smartphone on you, ie underwater)

Gripes

Max filming frame rate is 60fps. I expect them to make this available via a firmware update in the future, but don’t count on it.

Annoyingly short battery life. Better hope your adventure only lasts an hour!

While the extreme wide angle is great for capturing action, it also looks quite amateurish. It’s possible to correct for some of it in GoPro Studios, but at a loss of quality around the edges.

[amazon text=Intova action camera&asin=B00OHAWW14] – the GoPro alternative. So, how is the Intova as a GoPro alternative?

It has the same great 1080p, 60fps footage.

It lacks the standardized support of the market leader

It has an LCD for framing shots

It also has wifi support

More footage options – if you want to capture slow motion, you can set it to 720p/120fps, or even 480p/240fps. The image quality definitely drops when you do so (because it forces the shutter speed to be faster), but it’s great to have that option available.

It has better battery life, closer to two hours. Still not great, but an improvement!

While also wide angle, the distortion is less noticeable.

In summary, the main differences for the GoPro alternative are the improved image quality (from reduced fisheye) and better battery, at the cost of being less standardized.

If you just need a good camera, and are able to find Intova-offered accessories to fit all of your shooting needs, then I would actually recommend the GoPro alternative, Intova, over the GoPro. The better image quality and battery life are quite nice.

If you expect to use your camera in a place where standardization is important – on drones with GoPro mounts, film sets, or places where there will be other GoPros in usage, I would recommend sticking with a GoPro camera for simplicity’s sake.